Elliott: 2018 CBN all-Canadian team, Julien POY

Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) earned Canadian Baseball Network colllege Player of the Year, receiving the most first-place votes for the 19th annual All-Canadian team.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

We don’t want to say that Quebec-based scouts were excited about Edouard Julien’s season for the Auburn Tigers last spring ...

Yet, they were itching to draft him five months ago after he completed a wildly successful freshman year.

Veteran scouts like Claude Pelletier (Ste-Lazare, Que.) of the New York Mets, Alex Agostino (St-Bruno, Que.), of the Philadelphia Phillies; Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.) of the New York Yankees’ and Raimondo Callari (Côté St-Luc, Que.) of the San Francisco Giants, were all impressed with Julien’s hitting exploits.

And so were our voters for the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team.

Julien, the DH at Auburn, broke Frank Thomas’ 32-year-old school RBI record, gaining first-place votes on 43 of 52 ballots (82.7%) earning the 19th annual Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year honour. It’s not that Julien had more range than a Canuck shortstop or a better arm than a right fielder. However, he did have the most first-place votes which is how we started deciding who was the Player of the Year 19 years ago.

2B Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ont.) of the Columbia State Chargers was second with 39 first-place votes, followed by LHP J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) a Canisius Golden Griffins with 35 top spots. SS Kobe Hyland (Edmonton, Alta.) of the Iowa Western Reivers and C Kole Cottam of the Kentucky Wildcats each were first on 34 ballots to round out the top five.

It is the third straight year our winner has come from Quebec, fourth in the last five years and the fifth overall. Previous winners were OF Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) of the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles and LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.) of the Lubbock Christian Chapparals; Craig-St. Louis (Gatineau, Que.) of the Seminole State Trojans and OF Ben Emond (Farnham, Que.) of the Texas Longhorns.

“He has a certain swagger,” said Agostino of the Phillies who selected Julien in the 37th round in 2017. “I liked him out of high school, but I didn’t see this kind of power coming.”

Julien arrived on the Auburn, Alabama campus with 22,999 other undergraduates a year ago. He was in a crowd of anonymous students. Baseball people and Auburn people know who he is now, despite arriving and not knowing his teammates. He has been on Southeastern Conference Network postgame interviews as a Tiger hero. He has earned the nickname Canadian Crusher.

At SEC tourney time, he had a walk-off winner against Kentucky and a grand slam in the ninth to ensure a 9-3 win over Ole Miss in the tournament. He was hitless in a 4-2 loss to Texas A&M and singled in a 7-0 loss to Mississippi, finishing with four hits a one home run and five RBIs,

Julien delivered a three-run home run in the first inning of the 13-4 win over Northeastern at Raleigh, N.C. He knocked in record-breaking 69th run of the season in a loss to the Florida Gators at the super regional opener in Gainesville.

He served as the translator for his coach to his French-speaking parents during the recruiting process. Auburn head coach Butch Thompson had recruited OF Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.) and INF Kyle Hann (Oakville, Ont.) to Mississippi State in 2013.

Will Julien move to a starting spot at second base in the spring? Will he remain the DH? Those answers will come, but right now we know Edouard Julien is the 2018 Canadian Baseball Network’s all-Canadian Player of the Year.

* * *

Our voters included … 16 coaches, from elite programs to colleges on both sides of the border; 14 writers -- including nine Canadian Baseball Network staffers -- 12 scouts, and 10 suits (executives, pro, college and amateur).

Our electorate came from seven different provinces and 13 states. Voting was done on a 5-3-1 basis.

We should point out that the ballot gathering process moved a lot quicker thanks to the efforts of Kevin Wall (Richmond Hill, Ont.) also known as Jason Bourne, for his magical ways of gathering all the numbers and George Farelli (Toronto, Ont.)

And as is always the case, IF you failed to turn in your ballot you have lost your right to complain.

This year Ontario players led the way with five players on the First Team, plus one whose father came from Ontario. The rest of the team was made up of two each from Quebec and British Columbia, while other spots went to players from Alberta and PEI.

A pair of two-way players earned two spots: Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) of the Indiana Hooisers was voted to the Second Team as a reliever and the Third Team as the DH. Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) of the Cloud County TBirds was a Second Team DH and a Third Team, reliever.

And now on with the best of the 731 Canadians playing the majority of their schedules south of the border …

Stevenson made 16 starts and one relief appearance in his final season, leading the MAAC and ranking 10th nationally with 10 wins (10-2 record) to place third on Canuck win list of the 731 south of the border. He led the Griffs with 99 innings pitched, ranking second in the conference, leading MAAC pitchers with 93 strikeouts limiting opponents to 21 walks. He held opponents to a .197 average, ranking third. He led all Canucks in innings pitched.

His best days were a complete-game, two-hit shutout against the Western Carolina Catamounts and 7 2/3 against the Fairfield Stags. Beat Niagara in the MAAC tourney and pitched the final inning for the save against Monmouth, striking out one Hawk batter in a clean inning of work, marking lone relief appearance of season.

He earned MAAC Pitcher of the Year honours as well as winning two MAAC Pitcher of the Week awards. He was named the MVP of the MAAC championship and honoured as a Third Team All-American and as an ABCA First Team All-New England Region.

Stevenson pitched for coach Les McTavish and the Vauxhall Academy Jets before being recruited by Griffs coach Mike McRae (Niagara Falls, Ont.). He was an Canadian Baseball Network First Teamer in 2017.

Right-hander _ Indigo Diaz (Vancouver, BC) Iowa Western Reivers.

Diaz went 11-1 with a 1.52 ERA as he fanned 101 in 65 innings in 16 games making 12 starts. He was second in ERA and wins and third in strikeouts amongst Canadians.

Diaz earned Northern All-District team with the Reivers and his 11 wins are second among Canadians, two less than Ohlone’s Ethan Skuija (Victoria, BC). He also earned First Team all State and honorable mention All American. Diaz had the third best ERA of all NJCAA Div. 1 pitchers. He pitched for the Coquitlam Reds coaches Jim Chapman and Dave Kington.

Reliever _ RJ Freure (Burlington, Ont.) Pitt Panthers.

Freure was 4-1, 4.30 ERA, with one save in 27 games, making one start, walking 35 and striking out 95 in 58 2/3 innings, as he held opponents to a .227 average.

Had wins against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, UMass Minutemen, LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He had a save facing the Miami Hurricanes.

Some of his better games were working 1 2/3 innings against North Carolina in the ACC tourney, allowing one run on one hit and four walks, striking out a pair; two scoreless allowing one hit, striking out three against Georgia Tech; worked an inning allowing a run against Clemson, fanning three; 1 2/3 scoreless against LIU Brooklyn with five strikeouts; another 1 2/3 scoreless giving up two hits and a walk, fanning four facing Brooklyn; Facing Miami turned in 2 1/3 scoreless allowing three hits, striking out one; Tossed 4 1/3 against Boston College giving up two runs on a base hit and three walks, as he fanned four, Had two scoreless against Youngstown State as he whiffed five; Tossed 1 1/3 scoreless giving up two hits and striking out a pair; Tossed four scoreless against UMass as he struck out nine; Worked a scoreless inning against USC Upstate striking out a pair; five scoreless against Oakland, allowing two hits, while fanning nine and in his debut pitched 1 2/3 innings against Saint Louis striking out four.

Catcher _ Kole Cottam (Knoxvillle, Tenn.) Kentucky Wildcats.

Cottam led the SEC with 10 home runs in league play and finished the season ranked in the top five in the SEC in home runs (first), doubles (fourth), RBI (first), total bases (second) and slugging (third). He twice had game-winning hits in the eighth inning to win series, including a bases loaded infield hit to make UK the only team to take a series from Georgia in Athens and a grand slam to erase a three-run deficit and knock off Missouri.

He had a team-high .352 with an OPS of 1.105 this season, 12 doubles, 51 RBIs and 31 walks. His 19 home runs rank ninth on UK’s single-season list and he had 12 in the Cats’ 14 weekend series this season, including eight of 10 in SEC play. His homers were also second highest amongst Canucks.

Cottam, who earned him SEC Player of the Week, was named First-Team All-SEC by the coaches, an All-American by Collegiate Baseball, ABCA/Rawlings South All-Region Team and a CoSida All-District Academic Team member. He earned Second-Team All-America honours from Collegiate Baseball and College Sports Madness.

C Kole Cottam, whose father knew every bad hop at Burlington’s Nelson Field, was one of two Kentucky Wildcats to make the First Team.

The Cottam family hails from Burlington, Ont., before his father headed to play at Memphis. His uncle and cousin are with the well-coached Milton Mets bantams.

First base _ Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) New Mexico JC Thunderbirds

He hit .386 with 14 doubles and 20 homers -- seventh most among JUCO sluggers. He drove in 59 runs with a 1.346 OPS in 52 games. He was the only Canuck to hit 20 homers.

He hit .370 with 15 doubles, two triples, 11 homers, 64 RBIs and a 1.118 OPS in 50 games, going 24-for-25 stealing bases, which ranked him tied for third on the Canadian list, tied with Davenport’s Zac Wilson and Mineral Area’s Caleb Feuerstake.

Curtis had two hits against Northwest Mississippi as well as an RBI; twice facing Snead State with a double and three RBIs, then a homer and two RBIs; Frontier with a double, triple and three RBIs; Volunteer State with two runs knocked in; Southwest Tennessee with a double and five runs knocked in; against Wallace State with two RBIs, Walters State with a double and four RBIs; against Volunteer State twice, with a double and second with a homer and a pair of RBIs.

Former Ontario Terriers 2B Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ont.) played summer ball with the Glacier Pilots in the Alaskan League.

He had three-hit outings against Wabash Valley with a homer and three RBIs; Jackson State with two doubles, a homer and four runs knocked in; Jackson State knocking in three thanks to a double and Roane State with a pair of doubles and RBIs. Plus he had four-hit outings against Southwest Tennessee with a solo homer and Motlow State with a double, homer and three RBIs.

Curtis played for the Ontario Terriers and coach Scott VandeValk.

Third base _ Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC) Crowder Roughriders.

He hit .408 -- fifth best among Canuck hitters -- with 16 doubles, two triples, 11 homers and 65 RBIs, as well as a 1.199 OPS in 56 games. He was second-best among Canadians with 82 hits and fourth highest OPS.

Morris, who transferred to Alabama, made the transition from being a supporting cast member on the best offence in school history to being the centre piece on a team poised to break more records this season. He put together an impressive freshman campaign in which he hit .384 with 15 doubles, three triples and nine homers, Morris started 2018 season at an even higher clip than he was on his freshman year.

His best games were two-hit outings facing Seminole State with two solo homers; Des Moines Area with an RBI, again against Des Moines Area with three RBIs; Jefferson with a triple; MCC-Maple Woods with a double and MCC-Maple Woods again; St. Louis knocking a double and driving in three; Fort Scott with two RBIs; St. Charles; Fort Scott knocking in a pair; State Fair driving in one and State Fair with one RBI and State Fair with a double and two RBIs;

He was just as productive with three-hit games against Labette with two homers and four RBIs; three doubles with two RBIs against Des Moines Area; North Iowa Area with a double and six RBIs; Connors State with an RBI; MCC-Maple Woods with a double and two RBIs; St. Louis with a double and three RBIs; State Fair with a run batted in; North Central Missouri with two homers and four RBIs and State Fair with a double, homer and two runs knocked in, while collecting four-hit games facing Labette with an RBI and Mineral Area with two doubles, a homer and two RBIs.

Morris, who played for coach Anthony Pluta and the Victoria Eagles, earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team honours in 2017.

Shortstop _ Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta.) Iowa Western Reivers.

He spent the previous two seasons at Iowa Western. Last spring he hit .386 with three home runs, 22 doubles and 11 stolen bases to help Reivers win NJCAA Division I Region XI Championship and advance to JuCo World Series. His freshman year, he hit .330 with six doubles and six stolen bases.

Swift hit .365 with seven doubles, three triples, 18 homers and 60 RBIs, as well as an 1.172 OPS in 55 games. He ranked eighth in North America in homers, 13th in home runs per game (.327), 15th in total bases per game (2.6), 18th in runs scored per game (1.218), 22nd in total bases (143) and runs scored (67). His home runs placed him third among Canadian hitters.

He was 4-for-7 with two homers and three RBIs in a loss in NAIA play against Antelope Valley, not to mention four-hit games against the The Master’s and Oregon Tech (double, two homers, five RBIs). Swift had two hits against Hope International (home run, two RBIs); Arizona Christian (two-run homer) and Vanguard (double, RBI). He went deep against The Master’s, Menlo; Arizona Western and Westmont

Swift also had three hits facing Hope (triple, homer, six RBIs); San Diego Christian (two homers and three RBIs); CSU East Bay (homer, two RBIs) and Simpson. He had five hit games against Menlo (double, homer) and San Diego Christian (triple, homer five RBIs); six hits against Hope (two doubles, a homer, six RBIs AND seven facing Corban (double and five RBIs).

He shared Golden State Conference co-player of the year with Michael Stefanic from Westmont.

Swift, who played for the Ontario Blue Jays and West Toronto coaches Dan Bleiwas, Sean Travers and Mike Steed, David Quattrociocchi and Raf Choudhury, earned Canadian Baseball Networrk Honourable Mention honours in 2016.

Pompey hit .335 with 20 doubles, seven homers and 39 RBIs with an 1.005 OPS in 50 games and was10-for-13 stealing bases. He was only third UK player to have an OPS over 1.000. In SEC play he hit .328 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 22 RBIs. His doubles were tied for second high among Canadians with Oklahoma Wesleyan John Lantigua, Minot State’s Wyatt Schlosser and Crowder’s Tyler Duncan.

Pompey had a streak of 44 games reached base safely streak dating to last season, including 18 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games. He had two hit games against Mississippi State, Mississippi State (two doubles, four RBIs); Indiana (solo homer); Tennessee; Tennessee (double); Miami of Ohio (RBI); Auburn (double, homer, five RBIs); Arkansas (two RBIs) and Wofford (homered, hits from both side of the plate

Pompey had three hits against South Carolina (double, homer and two RBIs) and went 4-for-5, against Murray State (two doubles, homer, four RBIs).

Last spring he earned a berth on the Golden Spikes Award mid-season list, gained SEC POW honors with 10 RBIs. He made four pre-season teams: All-Southeastern Conference First Team, National Collegiate Baseball Writers All-America First Team; Perfect Game All-America, All-Conference Team and Baseball America conference player of the year

Pompey, who played for the Toronto Mets -- coaches Ryan McBride, Rich Leitch -- and Oakville Royals -- Mike Siena and Mike Swinton -- earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian First Team honours in 2017 and Honourable Mention honours in 2016.

Former Les Aigles de Trois-Rivières’ John Lantigua (Quebec City, Que.) of the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles.

Lantigua hit .381 with 20 doubles, 13 homers and 47 RBIs for an OPS of 1.177 in 54 games. His doubles total tied him for second among Canadians with Kentucky’s Tristan Pompey, Minot State’s Wyatt Schlosser and Crowder’s Tyler Duncan.

The son of the Quebec City Capitales legend had two-hit games against Friends (two doubles, an RBI); Roosevelt (home run, three RBIs); Saint Mary (double, three RBIs); Tabor (double, homer, three RBIs); Bethany (double, two homers, five RBIs); Bethany (run-scoring double); York; Kansas Wesleyan (double, homer, four RBIs); Manhattan Christian (RBI double); Northwestern Oklahoma State (double, homer, two RBIs); York (RBI double); York (RBI); Freed-Hardeman and Cumberland (double, two RBIs).

Lantigua, who played for Les Aigles de Trois-Rivières and coach Jean-Philippe Lemay, was an All-Canadian honourable mention in 2017.

DH _ Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) Auburn Tigers.

He hit .275 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs in 62 games. Julien broke Frank Thomas’ freshman program record that had stood since 1987 and his RBI total were the most in the Southeastern Conference as well as the most among freshmen nationally. His 17 home runs were tied for second among freshmen nationally and the most by an Auburn player since 2010. His home runs were good enough for a share for fourth place with Johnson County’s Malik Williams.

Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) of the Auburn Tigers.

He was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his Auburn debut against Longwood; hit his first collegiate home run and drove in four runs playing BYU; went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and four more RBIs the next day; homered in back-to-back games against Alabama and Missouri; went 3-for-3 with a walk, two hit-by-pitches, two doubles, a home run and three RBIs facing Alabama A&M; was the only Auburn player to reach base six times in a game this season and his five runs scored were the most since 2009; finished Alabama series 4-for-11 with five runs, two home runs and eight RBIs; hit a pair of three-run home runs in the series at Florida; went 2-for-4 with his second grand slam of the season against Vanderbilt; hit his sixth home run in a span of 11 games off South Alabama pitching; went 3-for-5 with two runs, a home run and four RBI in the regular season finale against LSU.

Julien earned all SEC All-Freshman Team, Second Team ABCA All-South Region Honors, as well as being named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game/Rawlings. He was also named to the SEC All-Tournament Team, the Raleigh Regional All-Tournament Team after going 7-for-13 with six runs, two home runs and six RBIs in the three games.

Gauthier, who went 9-0 in nine starts with a 2.12 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings, was voted to the All-Region team. A year ago Gauthier, recruited from the LaFleche Dragons and coach Alexandre Béland, won Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team Third Team honours.

Right-hander: Ethan Skuija (Victoria, BC) Ohlone Renegades.

Skuija was dominant for Ohlone -- the first Canuck we remember playing at the California school since C Jeff Crinklaw (Cambridge, Ont.). Skuija was 13-2 with a 1.70 ERA over 18 appearances, 17 starts. He was No. 1 in wins by Canadians. Working 90 innings he struck out 109, to sit second in strikeouts by Canadians. He was second in strikeouts by Canadians and third in ERA.

He earned All Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year in the California Community College Association, as well as All-America second team and all-State team honours. Skuija played for the Victoria Eagles and coach Anthony Pluta, then the UBC Thunderbirds and coach Chris Pritchett.

Reliever _ Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana Hooisers.

He finished with a 4-2 won-loss record and seven saves, Lloyd had a 1.54 ERA walking five and striking out 22 in 23 1/3 innings. Of his 15 outings, 11 were scoreless against: Lloyd had scoreless outings against Coastal Carolina, San Diego, Pacific, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Illinois, Nebraska, Maryland, Michigan State and five scoreless against Purdue.

He never allowed more than one run the four games he was scored upon against Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois and Texas A&M. On the season he held opponents to a .212 average.

He had 16 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 61 RBIs while batting .447 to lead all 731 Canucks with the highest average. He had an 1.400 OPS in 45 games was also the highest.

Lacasse had three hit games facing New Mexico, with a double and two RBIs; Frank Phillips with a triple, a homer and three RBIs, Odessa with a double and three RBIs; Midland with a double and two RBIs; New Mexico Military driving in a run and Luna with a double, homer and three RBIs.

He had two hit games against Cisco (RBI), Vernon (pair of RBIs), Frank Phillips (double, a homer, three RBIs; Odessa twice (double and four RBIs); Howard (triple); Midland twice (double and three RBIs); El Paso three times (two doubles, two RBIs); facing New Mexico Military (run-scoring double); New Mexico Military (two doubles and two RBIs); Luna twice (two RBI doubles). That helped him earn Western Junior College Conference all-star honours.

Lacasse played for the Gatineau Hull-Volant and coach Michel Landriault and then Robert Fatal’s ABC.

First base _ Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) Johnson County Cavaliers.

He hit .397 with 15 doubles, two triples, 17 homers and 78 RBIs, with a 1.155 OPS in 60 games. He led all of the hitters in the 731 Canadians led all hitters with 89 knocks. He led all Canucks in RBIs and was tied for fourth in home run runs with Edourd Julien.

Williams had a number of two-hit games: twice against Ellsworth, with an RBI double and with a run knocked in; facing Kirkwood twice, once with a solo homer; MCC-Longview with a double and two RBIs; against Coffeyville with an RBI; against Hesston with a double, a triple and two runs driven in; MCC-Maple Woods; Labette; facing Highland with a two run-double, MCC-Maple Woods with a two-run double; Allen County with a home run and four RBIs; Allen County twice, with a run knocked in each game; Rockhurst JVs with a double and two RBIs; Rockhurst varsity with a double; Neosho County three times including an RBI double and two RBIs; a double, homer and three RBIs against Cloud County and against Kansas City Kansas with a run knocked in.

Plus he has had three-hit games facing Coffeyville with a double, triple, homer and five RBIs; against Highland twice, with two homers and five RBIs and a homer and three RBIs; two solo homers against Cloud County; Hutchison with an RBI and four-hit game playing Independence with two doubles and an RBI; Allen County including a homer and three RBIs, a homer and five RBIs playing Fort Scott.

Williams played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Sean Travers and Mike Steed.

Second base _ Lucas Diluca (Lasalle, Ont.) Cuyahoga Challengers.

He didn’t have any problem adjusting to college ball as a freshman batting .415 -- fourth highest among Canuck hitters -- with eight doubles, three triples, two homers and 36 RBIs in 49 games while compiling a 1.116 OPS.

He had three-hit games against Louisburg (double, homer, seven RBIs); Sinclair (two RBIs); Edison (triple and three RBIs); Lakeland (two doubles, three RBIs) and Vincennes.

Diluca played for the Windsor Selects and coach Marc Picard, compared him to Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) at a similar age.

Third base _ Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) Colby Trojans.

He led all hitters in conference play with a .495 average leading the Trojans with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. He also had a team-high in games played (52), hits (75) and runs (60). He batted .431 on the season, second highest amongst the 731 Canucks behind C Marcel-Maxime Lacasse of the Western Texas Westerners. His 1.220 OPS was third highest amongst Canucks.

Coutney managed two-hit outings facing Lamar (RBI triple); McCook (two double and an RBI); Hutchinson (solo homer); Hutchinson (double, two RBIs); Pratt; Seward County (RBI double); McCook (with an RBI); Indian Hills (with a solo homer), Indian Hills (with a three-run homer); Barton (double); Barton (RBI); Dodge City (double) and Garden City (home run, two RBIs). He had three hit games (with a homer, three RBIs) against New Mexico Military; Pratt; Seward County (two doubles, with an RBI); Cloud County (double, homer, two RBIs); Butler and Independence (solo homer).

He had four hits against Dodge City (homer, two RBIs) yet his best was against Cloud County when he went 5-for-6 with a double, homer and seven RBIs. Coutney was named Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Freshman of the Year in the western division and also earned Region VI First Team honours.

Coutney played with the Spruce Grove, and the St.. Francis Academy under Rob Boik.

Shortstop _ Conner Morro (Cheltenham, Ont.) Canisius Golden Griffs.

He had 63 hits to set his batting average at .342 (8th best in MAAC), as well as 16 extra-base hits, including three triples, to notch 30 RBIs and a .457 slugging percentage. His first collegiate home run came at Rider. He was 11-for-14 stealing runs. Morro started all 52 games his first season with the Griffs.

Was third on the team with 28 walks, reaching base at a .448 clip to finish fourth in the MAAC. He put together a 10-game hit streak that included 15 hits and 11 RBIs as he had 20 multi-hit games plus three games with three hits. Morro also had eight multi-RBI games, four that were three RBI performances.

He had two hits in each of the four games at the MAAC championship for eight hits in total, where he also recorded six runs scored, ending the season with at least one hit in every game of the MAAC championship and both NCAA Regional games.

Moro, who played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Sean Travers, Danny Bleiwas and Mike Steed, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian honourable mention in 2017.

He had three hits playing Garden City (home run, two RBIs); Southwestern (double, triple, homer, four RBIs); North Central Missouri (double, triple, two RBIs) and Marshalltown (double, RBI) as well as four against Colby (double, two homers, five RBIs) and Southwestern (two RBIs). His best game was a five-hit effort against the Garden City Broncbusters (5-for-6, two triples, three RBIs). He earned Northern All-District all-star honours.

Humeniuk played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coaches Jeff Duda and Allan Cox, as well as the Interlake Blue Jays and coach Jamie Bettens. He earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian honourable mention in 2017.

Howie hit .333 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs (second on the team), 50 RBIs and stole 17 bases. He ranked second on the team in slugging percentage (.533) and on base percentage (.420) for a .953 OPS. He appeared in 60 games, starting 58.

He went 3-for-5 with one home run, five RBIs, and one run at Tennessee-Martin; was 3-for-5 with one double, one home run, four RBIs, and three runs against Southeast Missouri; 4-for-7 with one double, three RBIs, against Jacksonville State when he earned OVC POW. In five OVC tourney games he batted .500 (10-for-20) with six walks, four RBIs, three doubles, one home run and an .800 slugging percentage and a .615 on-base mark in the OVC tournament. He had the second-most hits in the tourney, was tied for first in doubles, tied for first in stolen bases, second in total bases (16) and fourth in average.

Howie earned second team All-OVC honors and was chosen to the OVC All-Tournament team. He was given the Ohio Valley Conference Medal of Honor, given annually to the student-athletes achieving the highest grade point average in a conference-sponsored sport, earning a spot on the conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He was a Third Team selection to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA),

After playing for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Sean Travers, Danny Bleiwas and Mike Steed, Howie earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian honourable mention in 2017.

Bédard batted .392 for the Trojans with 13 doubles, three triples, one homer and 39 RBIs in 59 with a 1.019 OPS. He also swiped 31 bases, second among Canadians.

He had two-game games playing against Northeastern; McCook; McCook; Western Nebraska and McCook. Bedard managed three hits facing Chandler-Gilbert (double, three RBIs); Miles (double, RBI) and Western Nebraska. And four hits against Otero (double, RBI).

Bédard played for Les Diamants de Québec and coach Dominik Walsh and was a Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian honourable mention in 2017.

DH _ Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) Cloud County TBirds.

Sabrowski batted in the heart of the T-Birds’ order, finishing with a .355 batting average and leading all Cloud players in home runs (11) and RBIs (58). He thought his future was as a position player but finished with a 1.138 OPS with 11 homers and 58 RBIs.

He had three hits facing Fort Scott (double, homer, two RBIs); Fort Scott (RBI- double); Seward County (home run, four RBIs) and Johnson County (two doubles, homer, four RBIs).

A duel-threat, Sabrowski earned All-Conference Honorable Mention as a first baseman and DH.

Third Team

Left-hander _ Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) Cloud County TBirds.

Sabrowski, 20, burst onto the national scene, and onto the radar of pro scouts, after putting together a 2018 season that saw him go 7-2 overall with a 3.14 earned run average — 1.56 ERA in conference games — and a school-record 117 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.

He also had the third highest strikeout per nine innings (15.95) of all NJCAA Division I pitchers. The 6-foot, 4-inch lefty saw his 117 strikeouts as a school record and the fifth-best mark among all NJCAA pitchers this season. He also led all Canucks in strikeouts. The southpaw showed command (26 walks in 66 innings) of his four-pitch mix. Sabrowski chose to sign with the San Diego Padres rather than sign with the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Sabrowski, who pitched for the Prospects Baseball Academy and coaches Cam Houston and Mike Johnson, earned him KJCCC West Pitcher of the Year honors and a First-Team All-Region selection in the Region VI.

Trogrlic-Iverson finished the season with an 8-3 record in 13 starts with a 2.35 ERA and that includes losing his final two outings when he allowed 12 runs -- eight earned in 10 1/3 innings. He fanned 91 in 76 innings.

Dalton did not allow hit in 13 of his 32 outings and did not allow a run in 21 of his 32 outings, as he worked in a team-high 32 games, fifth most in program history. He was 1-2 with a 3.02 ERA and a team-leading 10 saves. He picked up saves facing Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara, Utah, New Mexico State, CSU Bakersfield (two), Cal, Rio Grande Valley (two) and UC Davis, plus he registered a win against Saint Mary’s. The 10 saves topped all Canucks.

In all, Dalton threw 41 2/3 innings, striking out 43 and walking 15, while holding opponents to a .243 batting average. His 10 saves rank fourth all-time in a single season, as he struck out a season-high four two times. He threw two perfect innings with four strikeouts at New Mexico State, two more scoreless with three strikeouts against Arizona. From March 1-to-May 1, he was 1-0 with nine saves and a 1.08 ERA in 18 games.

Dalton, who earned WAC Pitcher of the Week twice, pitched for Todd Hubka and the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs.

He had three-hit outings against Frank Phillips, with an RBI-double; facing the El Paso with two doubles and three RBIs; El Paso again with a three-run homer; the Seward County Saints with a homer and four RBIs; Midland with a double, homer and four RBIs; New Mexico Military; plus four-hit efforts playing Mountain View with a double and two RBIs. He hit .394 with 17 doubles, four triples, 12 homers, 55 RBIs with a 1.163 OPS in 52 games.

Quirion, who last spring earned Canadian Baseball Network Third Team honours, has played for Ducs de Longueuil and coach Mathieu Adam as well as Rocket de Coaticook and Guy Ainslie.

He led in a number of offensive categories including hits (66), homers (15), RBIs (50), total bases (127), and walks (39), while batting a team-best .346, third in the SBC. He posted a team-high .464 on-base percentage, which was the best in the league and 47th best in the country. His slugging percentage of .665 that was first in the Sun Belt, 22nd best in the nation, and seventh best in school history. MacDonald’s 15 home runs are tied for second most in a season in school history, while his 50 RBIs were the 10th best in school history. He also hit 12 doubles and two triples with a .489 on-base percentage and .736 slugging percentage

MacDonald’s best games included: a season-high four hits in two games at Missouri and at Louisiana-Monroe; two home runs in back-to-back games versus Ole Miss and Little Rock, with two doubles and four RBIs against Coastal Carolina; he drove in four at Georgia State. He played and started in 51 of team’s 52 games.

MacDonald earned Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year honors and was a All-SBC Second Team selection. As well he was named to All-Arkansas Collegiate Team and made All-Central Region First-Team from the ABCA to become only the 12th player at A-State to earn the award.

MacDonald, who played for the Ontario Terriers and coach Scott Vandevalk, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college honours in 2016 and 2017.

Second base _ Tommy Reyes-Cruz (Montreal, Que.) Clarendon Chaparrals.

He batted .391 with 14 doubles, three triples, six homers and 43 RBIs with a 1.083 OPS. His two-hit games were facing Mountain View (two RBIs), twice against Lamar (RBI double and an RBI); Seward County (double); Frank Phillips three times (two-run homer; an RBI double and double, three runs knocked in); Western Texas twice, (RBI the second game); El Paso (home run, four runs knocked in); Luna (double); against Midland twice (triple, RBI, two-run homer; Midland; New Mexico (RBI triple); New Mexico Military (two doubles, driving in three) and New Mexico Military (triple).

He had a three-hit outing against Odessa; Midland (double, homer, two RBIs); plus four-hit outings facing Lamar (RBI double); Redlands (double) and Seward County (RBI). He also earned Western Junior College Conference all-star honours.

Reyes-Cruz played for the Saguenay Voyageurs and coach Martin Pouliot, along with the ABC and coach Dave Dufour.

Third base _ Liam Wilson (Ayr, Ont.) Canisius Golden Griffs.

He led the Griffs with a .353 batting average (fifth in the conference) and leading with a team-high 78 hits (second-best in the MAAC). He slugged at a .624 clip to lead Canisius and rank third among MAAC hitters, as well as was second on the team with nine homers. He ranked third nationally with 27 doubles and drove in 49 runs to place second on the Griffs. In all, Wilson topped Canadian hitters with 28 doubles and had 78 hits to tie with Wilson Clarendon’s Anthony Quirion.

His best game was a season-high five RBIs (four hits, two home runs) against the Golden Flashes. He also had four hits, including two homers and four RBIs at Rider. He finished ninth in program history in career hits (219), set the program record in doubles (59), is 10th all-time in RBIs (121) and eighth in total bases (331).

Wilson earned All-MAAC First Team selection, was a Third Team All-American, made the ABCA First Team All-England Region and was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team.

Wilson, who played for coach Scott VandeValk and the Ontario Terriers, earned Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention in 2014 and 2016, as well as Canadian Baseball Network Third Team honours in 2017.

Shortstop _ Bryce Dimitroff (Hamilton, Ont.) East Central Tigers.

He had a .366 average and added 17 extra base hits along -- 13 doubles, four home runs -- as he had a .922 OPS in 41 games.

Wilson had 17 doubles, three triples and 10 homers, while slugging .630 to lead the team. He ranked second in the Great Lakes Athletic Conference with 73 hits, ranking fourth in the conference with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs. He batted .365 (73-for-200). Wilson had third-most stolen bases in a season at DU (24), which placed him in a tie with Columbia State’s Elliott Curtis, Mineral Area’s Caleb Feuerstake. He had fifth-most hits in a season at DU and tied for sixth-most RBIs in a season at as he played in 51 games.

He had a season-high five RBIs with two homers versus Minnesota State, went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs against Gannon and went 3-for-4 with a homer, two steals and three RBIs at Tiffin. He graduated with his name in the Davenport record books leading in stolen base percentage (.844), hits (218), stolen bases (54) and runs scored (154). He was second in RBIs (122) and total bases (299). He’s third in walks (65), as well as sixth in both batting average (.354) and doubles (32).

Wilson earned GLIAC Player of the Year and was named DU Male Senior Athlete of the Year.. He also earned ABCA First Team All-Region, named to the GLIAC All-Academic team and earned GLIAC Player of the Week.

Turino hit .354 with 18 doubles, three triples, seven homers and 70 RBIs in 67 games with a 1.031 OPS. He was tied for second in RBIs by Canadians with Connors State’s Tony Hrynkiw and third best in hits with 81.

Turino managed three-hit games against MCC-Maple Woods (double, homer, four RBIs); St. Charles (double, three RBIs); Three Rivers (two doubles, three RBIs); plus four-hit games facing Crowder and State Fair (home run, four RBIs).

Victoria Eagles alum Tyler Duncan (Sookie, BC) Crowder Roughriders.

Duncan hit .367 with 20 doubles, four triples, seven homers and 68 RBIs with a 1.070 OPS in 61 games. He tied for second in doubles along with Oklahoma Wesleyan’s John Lantigua, Kentucky’s Tristan Pompey and Minot State’s Wyatt Schlosser (20) and was fourth among Canadian hitters with 80 base hits.

He had two hits against Des Moines Area (solo homer); Iowa Western (three RBIs); North Iowa Area; Connors State (three RBIs), MCC-Maple Woods (RBI double); Maple Woods (two doubles, two RBIs); St. Louis (triple, homer, four RBIs); St. Louis (home run, two RBIs); Mineral Area (RBI); Three Rivers (double, RBI); State Fair (triple, two RBIs); State Fair (home run, three RBIs); Three Rivers (RBI-double) and North Central Missouri (two RBIs);

Duncan had three knocks facing St. Louis (two RBIs); North Central Missouri (two RBIs); North Central Missouri (double, homer, three RBIs); Fort Scott (triple, three RBIs) and State Fair (double, three RBIs). And he had four hits facing Neosho (double, two RBIs); St. Charles (RBI), plus Mineral Area (double, two RBIs).

Duncan, who played for coach Anthony Pluta and the Victoria Eagles, earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team All-Canadian in 2017.

DH _ Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana Hooisers.

Lloyd hit .275 with 15 doubles, a triple, nine homers and 41 RBIs with an .814 OPS in 59 games.

In two years and 315 at bats with the Hoosiers, Lloyd has hit 19 home runs, with 84 RBIs, hitting.288 average with a .878 OPS.

Lloyd, who played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coach Allen Cox before heading to Iowa Western, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team First Team honours in 2016 and in 2017. Like last year, Lloyd was a two-way star with Indiana and a two-way man on our dream team -- out of the bullpen and at DH.